Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-09-19

| ne nad prospered. ana ms face wore tht
| placid composure of a man who had II,
| past TO regret. and no secret to hid.
| from his fellow men.
| Gates demanded the house. and his
| faithful tenant gave 1t up The ownc,
furnished it comfortably and moved in
and appeared To he :" well pleased with
| his surroundings that his old neighbors
were delighted.
| 81 have seen every nook and corner in
| the house except the cellar" remarked :,
| friend who WAS going over the house with
| the proprietor.
The cellar" exclaimed Gates "Oh.
yes. OF course I'll show You that"
Tie led the WAY. and his companion
praised everything in high terms
The wall at this end re said, ais
well built. but il is more massive than
any other part of the work il was built
10 last forever"
Just So replied Gates, with dry
laugh. NO, don't mean tina; exactly
The supply of material was limited and
the mason used what he had. | am sat
istied with it,"
But after the departure of his guest
Gates scowled and shook his list.
D-n him for a meL!dling fool,' he
said. What does he know about il:
suspicious, perhaps and wants TO pry
around here. Hum, l must be on my
guard" "
The wretched man paced the floor.
1T Is the mystery of it and not the
deed" he continued, THAT weighs upon
my mind. l found robher in my house
and slew him. There was no crime In
that. But had to bury two men instead
of one. Who was the second mani Who
Killed him? How came his body there
\" living person but myself could have
entered the cellar Pshaw! l am going
over the same questions that have worried
me for the last ten years. There is no
explanation, absolutely none. and am a
fool 10 90 on in this way"
The visit To the cellar seemed to I'M
nerve Gates, and his health and spirits
began to decline.
A heavy rainstorm set in, and Gates
found himself alone one night There
WAS no danger of interruption in such
weather, as nobody would care To pay a
visit except in a case of life and death.
II must see them" cried Gates, ..and l
will"
He went to the outhouse where the
tools We're stored, and then proceeded To
the cellar.
Ii was as hard tn tear down the wall rs
it had been 10 build it, but after awhile
the worker succeeded in removing a great
mass Of granite and mortar.
Gates reached over back of the wall
and pulled ont a skeleton covered with
tattered fragments of blue. He laid il on
the floor.
is that the man killed or the other"
he whispered.
Another pull and the second skeleton
rested by the side of the first.
Il thought, gasped Gates, that felt
something else over there
He stretched ont both hands behind the
wall and caught something. He dragged
ii out. and threw il on the floor.
Then he held up the lamp and stared
wildly before him.
There were three skeletons on the floor!
''Onc, two. three" said Gates
He rubbed his eyes and began the count
again.
Zone, two. three"
He fell on his knees aud felt of each
skeleton.
zone. two. three he shrieked
1t was more than the suffering man
could stand. He toppled over, limp and
in dead faint.
Early in the morning the few people in
the streets were aStoniShed to see Gates
running aimlessly in every direction. His
dress was disordcred and his eyes Slared
like those of a maniac.
'One. two, three he shouted
Several attempts We're made to stop
him, but he broke away and continued To
run. Some one saw him draw a long
knife, and the crowd scattered. fearing
that he was about to attack them.
lone, two, three screamed the mad
man, plungiug the knife into his breast
three times.
He fell on the sidewalk. rolled over
once and was dead when the spectators
reached the spot.
Quite sensation was caused by the dis
covcrv of three skeletons in the cellar I'M
der the Gates house, but the mystery was
never explained. Ii was generally sur
missed that some horrible tragedy must
have occurred there during the war, but
It's nature and the parties to ii could not
be ascertained. Ii was thought that
Gates had Unexpectedly come upon the
skeletons. and the fright occasioned by
he CHASTITY spectacle had turned him into
! raving madman.-Wallace L. Reed III
Atlanta Constitution.